Habitat associations of zoophagic bat ensembles in north-western Australia

North-western Australia comprises the Kimberley Craton and parts of three adjacent sedimentary basins. It has a tropical climate and habitats that range from semiarid plains supporting grasslands to mesic uplands supporting woodlands as well as narrow riparian forests and patches of rainforest; mangrove forests occur along the coast. Its bat fauna comprises three obligate phytophages and 27 obligate zoophages. Analysis of zoophagic bats at 171 sites scattered throughout this study area revealed two compositionally distinct ensembles. One, comprising 19 species, occupies mangrove forest and includes three species known only to occupy mangroves in Western Australia. The other, comprising 20 species, occupies landward habitats and includes four species that are found only in landward ecosystems. Both ensembles are structured in terms of resource allocation, but nestedness observed in assemblage composition can be explained by environmental factors, implying the influence of environmental controls. Sixteen species belong to both ensembles, but seven of these require cave roosts and occur only near cavernous country while three others are confined to rocky riparian habitats. The richest assemblages were recorded in rugged cavernous landscapes in complex vegetation structures near permanent freshwater pools in the most mesic areas.

Phylogeny of Molossidae Gervais (Mammalia: Chiroptera) inferred by morphological data

Molossidae is a large (roughly 100 species) pantropically distributed clade of swift aerially insectivorous bats for which the phylogeny remains relatively unknown and little studied compared with other speciose groups of bats. We investigated phylogenetic relationships among 62 species, representing all extant molossid genera and most of the subgenera, using 102 morphological characters from the skull, dentition, postcrania, external morphology, tongue, and penis, based on direct observation and literature reports. Both parsimony and Bayesian analyses were used in phylogenetic reconstruction. Our analysis supports two main clades of molossids, both of which mingle Old World and New World taxa. One clade is comprised of Mormopterus,Platymops, Sauromys, Neoplatymops, Molossops, Cynomops, Cheiromeles, Molossus, and Promops. The other clade includes Tadarida, Otomops, Nyctinomops, Eumops, Chaerephon, and Mops. The position of Myopterus with respect to these two groups is unclear. As in other recent analyses, we find that several genera do not appear to be monophyletic (e.g. Tadarida, Chaerephon, and Molossops sensu lato). We recommend that the subgenera of Molossops sensu lato and Austronomus be recognized at the generic level. We conclude that much more data are needed to investigate lower level problems (generic monophyly and relationships within genera) and to resolve the higher-level branching pattern of the family.

Ongoing unraveling of a continental fauna: decline and extinction of Australian mammals since European settlement

The highly distinctive and mostly endemic Australian land mammal fauna has suffered an extraordinary rate of extinction (>10% of the 273 endemic terrestrial species) over the last ∼200 y: in comparison, only one native land mammal from continental North America became extinct since European settlement. A further 21% of Australian endemic land mammal species are now assessed to be threatened, indicating that the rate of loss (of one to two extinctions per decade) is likely to continue. Australia's marine mammals have fared better overall, but status assessment for them is seriously impeded by lack of information. Much of the loss of Australian land mammal fauna (particularly in the vast deserts and tropical savannas) has been in areas that are remote from human population centers and recognized as relatively unmodified at global scale. In contrast to general patterns of extinction on other continents where the main cause is habitat loss, hunting, and impacts of human development, particularly in areas of high and increasing human population pressures, the loss of Australian land mammals is most likely due primarily to predation by introduced species, particularly the feral cat, Felis catus, and European red fox, Vulpes vulpes, and changed fire regimes.